Wednesday, September 19, 2012

In August New York City announced it had approximately 3,000 closed-circuit TV cameras connected to the new $30 million “Domain Awareness System,” technology that combines and analyzes numerous data streams.

The majority of these cameras are in Lower and Midtown Manhattan, but the outer boroughs are next, according to Government Security News.

Cameras have already been installed on bridges and over an unknown number of mosques in Brooklyn, like this one on Fulton Street in Bedford Stuyvesant.

With the system, made by Microsoft, investigators have access to live video feeds, suspect arrest records, 911 calls, license plate readers, microphones, and 2,000 radiation detectors.

As part of the agreement, New York City will receive 30 percent of revenues on Microsoft’s future sales of the system.

According to Municipal Insider, civil rights advocates are expressing their concerns with the system, which they argue could impede the privacy of the millions who live in New York City. The city says it will operate the system in a professional manner.